25 euros of its capital increase of EUR 3

Who tour After the nationalization of Fortis and Bradford & Bingley over the weekend, and the fall of Dexia in the stock market, that is what investors seemed to ask about European banks. Those who have suffered the most since the beginning of the crisis have been the most contested. Commerzbank fell by 24, 18, 14 Natixis HBOS, UBS 13... Small non-listed banks are also in trouble everywhere in Europe: in Spain, in Scandinavia as in Russia.

The squirrel and the banks

Popular will to strengthen

in the capital of Natixis

Natixis is continuing its descent to the underworld. Carried away by the crisis of confidence across the banking sector, the title still collapsed yesterday by 13,73 to 2.20. He thus fell for the first time under the subscription price (2.25 euros) of its capital increase of EUR 3.7 billion, concluded the last painful week in view of the extremely difficult market conditions. The title has lost up to 31 in session yesterday. It is somewhat picked up after the two major shareholders of Natixis, the popular banks and Caisses d'Epargne, sent a release to remind their joint subsidiary is located "among the best capitalized banks" and say that they were planning to strengthen its capital. "The Federal Bank of the Banques Populaires and Caisses d'Epargne National Fund want to reaffirm their full and complete confidence in the prospects of Natixis through, where appropriate, acquisitions joint Natixis securities market", said two mutual banks, which hold together 69.8 of its capital. However, their room for manoeuvre is narrow. Due to the stock market regulations, they will not increase their participation in more than 2 of the capital and of voting for each.

Russia: the fall courses

penalises the medium-sized banks

A virtual exhibition zero American mortgage risk, large Russian banks have relatively suffered "subprime" credit crisis On the other hand, the collapse of two stock exchanges, the Micex and the RTS who lost about 40 of their capitalization since July, strongly affected medium-sized banks that 50 of the risk were backed to the stars of rating actions. Thus, Kit Finance which had artificially supported a course of the public operator, Rostelekom could deal with margins of its creditors. The Investment Bank is currently negotiating with Gazprom pension funds managing organization to be purchased. In a situation comparable Sviaz Bank has just be taken over by the VEB. Finally, Renaissance Capital has had to give up 50 of its shares for $ 500 million, Onexim Bank, the financial structure of the Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. Although the branch says that it is not a rescue, experts recall that it had refused in 2006 offer four times superior to the VTB.

To deal with the draining of the inter-bank credit, the Russian Central Bank already lowered its mandatory reserves at a level historically low, while has invested through the auctioning of refinancing of the Ministry of finance and a supply of credit to the first three public banks almost 60 billion dollars of liquidity during the previous week. Vladimir Putin announced yesterday that the Government and the Russian Central Bank would establish new support measures for banks, to deal with the crisis of liquidity are currently in. It will be including to allow Russian banks to require a credit to the public bank VEB or allow the Central Bank to compensate for the losses they suffered in the interbank market.

Savings banks

Spanish in the viewfinder

If they did not have the time to focus on structured products, the number of Spanish savings banks that have fed the "housing bubble" by their largesse are now in trouble. Suspensions of payments multiply both individuals and professionals of the sector. The rate of savings protested should spend 1.9 today to more than 5 next year. Moody's was especially placed under supervision the Caixa Catalunya, the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo (CAM) and the Caja de Valencia. Eyes are also turning to Caja Espana unpaid rate is 4 and Caja Castilla - La Mancha with the half-year profit dropped from 81. Everyone expected mergers in the sector as well as that of the banks mean with as the most often cited protagonists Banco Pastor and Banco Popular. Exposure to the Lehman Bank which some trade in structured products, the image of Bankinter, BBVA, Bancaja etc., is estimated at EUR 300 million by the Constable of the stock market and more than 2 billion by some professionals.

Small banks

Scandinavian hit

head-on

If the major Scandinavian banks appear to have solid kidney, small institutions of the region are hit head-on by the international financial crisis. Roskilde Bank, the Bank 8 (e) of the Denmark, comes to bankruptcy. It was dismantled yesterday by three banks Northern, Nordea and Danish Arbejdernes Landesbank and Spar Nord Bank. Always in the Denmark, Bonusbanken, a small bank which saw melt its capital due to the crisis, was bought by another regional bank, Vestjysk Bank which itself merged with Ringkoebing Bank. The small financial institutions pay their aggressive policy of loan risk, as in the housing market Danish, which makes them "very exposed and vulnerable in the current situation where there is pressure on liquidity", explains Carsten Valgreen, Chief Economist at "benderley economics". In Iceland, the Government will purchase 75 of Glitnir, the third Bank of the country, for 600 million euros due to its liquidity problems. It provides have not intended to keep its shares "for a long time." In Norway, the Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, acknowledged that the financial crisis would have a shock wave that would be also felt in the region.

A German banking system under pressure

The relief granted to Hypo Real Estate awakened already existing concerns about the strength of the German banking system. If the Government gave its agreement to guarantee high, is that the risk of contagion in the whole sector was real. "Given the way in which the crisis has worsened in a weekend, may we were still other developments", the spokesman for the conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ulrich Wilhelm acknowledged. According to one analyst of Landsbanki Kepler, "other banks could be similar risks." "There may be other damage if the situation normalizes not on financial markets." All German financial stocks were under pressure yesterday, especially Commerzbank lost 24. A spokesman sought to reassure, saying that the Bank has already "covered the need for refinancing for 2008" and "essentially" via stable financial products it refinances. According to the Reuters news agency, the Bafin have imagined earlier this year a rescue of Hypo Real Estate scenario, which would include a takeover by Commerzbank. "We do not take control of Hypo Real Estate", said the Bank proposal, integrating Dresdner Bank. Already four Bank were for the benefit of a public emergency in Germany (SachsenLB, IKB, WestLB and BayernLB).